“Growing Pains” alum Ashley Johnson revealed she almost got kidnapped by a man with a gun while on the set of the ’90s sitcom.
The actress, now 42, told the alarming story during her appearance on the “Weird Kids” podcastearlier this month, recalling how a man grabbed her while she was walking with her mom and started running.
At the time, the live studio audience members were “within five feet” from the stars when they exited their trailers.
Even more alarming, she said a fan had written to the show ahead of the attempted kidnapping saying, “I am coming to set and I am going to bring a gun and I am going to murder some of the cast.”
Johnson recalled, “So, I’m walking with my mom, and then I just remember some guy hops out of the line, and he grabs me, and grabs me up and starts booking it. And all I remember is there was security that somehow got on him after some time.”
“Security came out, they wrestle him down, and I remember just flying around the air,” she continued.
Johnson said she was “clueless” during the incident, but remembered being upset because she thought she was going to be in trouble since the kidnapper took one of her shoes.
“He ended up clearly going to jail,” she shared. “He had a gun.”
“And, you know, they got him, and they saved me,” she continued.
Johnson played Chrissy Seaver on “Growing Pains” from 1990 to 1992. The incident happened during her first year of filming, meaning she was only 6 or 7 years old at the time.
The actress joined the ABC sitcom in its fourth season, playing the youngest child of Dr. Jason Seaver (played by the late Alan Thicke) and his wife, Maggie (Joanna Kerns). Her on-screen siblings included Mike (Kirk Cameron), Carol (Tracey Gold) and Ben (Jeremy Miller).
The show ran for seven seasons between 1985 and 1992.
Outside of “Growing Pains,” Johnson is best known for voicing Gretchen Grundler on “Recess” and Gwen Tennyson in the “Ben 10” universe as well as starring on “Blindspot” and providing the voice and motion capture for Ellie in “The Last of Us” video games.
Thicke died in December 2016 after suffering a heart attack. He was 69 years old.
His “Growing Pains” co-stars attended his memorial in Los Angeles, including Cameron, Kerns, Gold and Miller.
Leonardo DiCaprio — who appeared on the show’s seventh and final season as Luke Brower, a homeless teen who gets taken in by the Seavers — also paid his respects to Thicke at the memorial.
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